I've heard that Princess Tatiana of Liechtenstein was once mooted as a possibility, but evidently there was far more interest at her end, than at his. As such, she gave up on trying to attract his attention, and married a well-born (if not royal) gentleman.
What I'm wondering is whether Princess Sophie of Bavaria, Duchess in Bavaria, ever tried to nab the Spanish heir for herself. After all, her mother has been characterized as an ambitious royal matchmaker. I wonder if she ever tried to push forward any of her daughters, as a potential bride for the future king of Spain. Certainly a kingdom is preferable to a mere principality ...
Does anybody know if any such meeting or introduction was made? It's just speculation on my part; but it's entirely conceivable that her eldest WAS thought of as a match for the Spanish heir. However, if such a thing had happened, it would have left Tatiana in the hole. Perhaps the princely family of Liechtenstein got apprehensive about this, and said "no, Felipe is for our princess; you can have our heir, Alois, instead!"
I've also wondered if Prince Albert II of Monaco, while heir to the throne, was considered a potential husband for any of the daughters of Prince Max of Bavaria, Duke in Bavaria ...
I know that Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg, youngest son of Grand Duke Jean, was still available on the marriage market, as of 1993 (the year Alois and Sophie got married). Certainly his parents would have been thrilled to welcome the likes of Sophie as a daughter-in-law. But then, from the standpoint of her parents, it may not have been the best match, since he was not heir to the throne (not having any real chance of inheriting the grand duchy).
It's truly unfortunate that in that generation the royal heirs, on the whole, were not very serious in pursuing princess brides. In their defense, a number of their own parents' marriages were not strictly *equal*. Of the ten reigning monarchies of Europe, between 1980 and 2000 only the sovereign couples of the UK, Spain, and Luxembourg involved *equally* born spouses.
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